Federal Government pledges a further 3 million euros for the EU Trust Fund for Africa to address the root causes of migration

“By intensifying on-the-ground aid we are making a necessary contribution to stemming migratory flows from Africa’s humanitarian disaster zones”, emphasised Federal Minister Sebastian Kurz. The Council of Ministers has allocated a further 3 million euros from the Foreign Disaster Fund for such aid.

“Effective border protection, the closure of the Mediterranean route and the fight against organised human trafficking are important parts of our efforts to control the migratory flows to Europe. It is, however, just as important to up humanitarian aid efforts in order to provide people with renewed prospects in their own regions”, said Sebastian Kurz.

The humanitarian crises in some African regions, such as the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa and the situation in the Sahel, Niger, the Lake Chad region and northeastern Nigeria, are triggering strong migratory flows. In November 2015 the European Union created the EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa. The EU Trust Fund for Africa is designed to provide funds as quickly and efficiently as possible to projects that address the root causes of migration in Africa. The Fund now has a total of 2.8 billion euros. To help alleviate the humanitarian crises in Africa, Austria has pledged a further 3 million euros from the Foreign Disaster Fund; this means that Austria, in addition to its share of the EU funds, will have given an additional 6 million euros in total to the Fund in bilateral donations. These resources will be issued via the Austrian Development Agency.